This study investigates the relationship between opinion leaders and psychosocial health outcomes in online cancer support group by considering two overarching questions: 1) Who are the opinion leaders? 2) What role do these opinion leaders play in explaining health outcomes? The findings suggest that opinion leaders had more psychosocial health benefits than non-leaders. There were different characteristics between opinion leaders and non-leaders in terms of race, personality traits, and psychosocial factors.

Kim, E. , Scheufele, D. , Han, J. and Shah, D. , 2013-08-08"Opinion Leaders in Online Cancer Support Groups: An Investigation of Their Antecedents and Consequences" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Renaissance Hotel, Washington DCOnline <PDF>. 2018-08-30 from http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p671082_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: This study investigates the relationship between opinion leaders and psychosocial health outcomes in online cancer support group by considering two overarching questions: 1) Who are the opinion leaders? 2) What role do these opinion leaders play in explaining health outcomes? The findings suggest that opinion leaders had more psychosocial health benefits than non-leaders. There were different characteristics between opinion leaders and non-leaders in terms of race, personality traits, and psychosocial factors.